1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention are generally directed to the field of identity verification and authentication and, more particularly, to an optical MEMS-based security object, an object reader system and method for identity verification.
2. Description of Related Art
The globalization of commerce and the threatening nature of world events over the past several years are examples of cultural behavior that have highlighted the need for increased security. Reports of identity theft are ubiquitous. Many victims have experienced financial catastrophe. At the extreme end of the spectrum, there is concern over national security. The ability to verify or authenticate identity is of paramount importance in effecting the various levels of security that people and institutions rely on to protect their lives, their freedom and their resources.
Ever since the use of debit cards and Internet-based transactions became widespread, magnetically encoded data, personal identification numbers (PINs) and/or passwords have been relied on as the primary interfaces for protecting one's assets and security. These have proven, however, to be easily bypassed. An illuminating anecdote is of the ersatz ATM in a shopping mall. The unsuspecting user inputs their card into a card reader and enters their PIN via a keypad interface. The ‘out of order—sorry for the inconvenience’ message that they get instead of the expected stack of $20 bills literally translates to ‘thank you for letting us record your bank account information and your personal access code’.
More sophisticated forms of identity authentication and verification have been rapidly developing over the past several years. The field of biometric security utilizes the unique attributes of fingerprints or iris patterns, for example, to identify an individual out of a database limited only by the amount of data it can hold. Biometric systems and methods, however, are expensive and their reliability has yet to be proven failsafe.
In view of the foregoing considerations, the inventor has recognized a need for security apparatus and methods that are absolutely reliable, tamper-proof, technically feasible and cost effective to make and use, and which overcome the issues outlined above and others recognized by those skilled in the art.